Topline
MyPillow founder Mike Lindell has refused to concede his loss in Tuesday’s Minnesota GOP gubernatorial primary—as President Donald Trump, who endorsed Lindell, has stayed silent about the results, despite Lindell draining his fortune promoting Trump’s false 2020 election fraud claims.
Mike Lindell, Republican candidate for Minnesota governor, speaks during a Minnesota Governor Candidate Forum.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Key Facts
The Associated Press called the race for Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth at 11:26 p.m. EDT on Tuesday as the state speaker had secured 43.6% of the 93% of the votes counted.
Lindell, who was backed by President Donald Trump, came a distant second with 32.3%% of the votes.
Kendall Qualls, a former healthcare executive who has backed the Minnesota GOP, placed third with 21.4% of the vote.
Lindell told reporters after the race was called his team needed “a day” to review the results, claiming, without evidence, they’ve “seen a couple of anomalies.”
Trump, who wrote on Truth Social earlier Tuesday that Lindell “deserves a BIG WIN IN MINNESOTA today” hasn’t commented publicly on Lindell’s loss.
Lindell has said he went broke defending himself in multiple defamation suits filed against him by voting machine companies for pushing Trump’s election fraud claims in 2020.
His loss adds to the small but growing list of Trump-endorsed GOP candidates who have failed to win their primaries.
What To Watch For
Polls show Democratic nominee Sen. Amy Klobuchar with a wide lead in the general election.
Tangent
Lindell has faced several controversies during the campaign. The Minnesota Republican Party questioned whether Lindell has lived in the state long enough to meet the qualifications for governor. Lindell said he lived in Texas as recently as last year, but moved back to Minnesota before the one-year deadline prior to the Nov. 3 general election to qualify as a candidate. A judge also found probable cause last week that Lindell may have violated campaign laws by giving out pillows in packaging that said “Mike Lindell for Governor” during a July Fourth parade. Lindell, who stepped down as CEO of MyPillow, settled a $1 billion defamation suit with Dominion Voting Systems last month after the company sued him for spreading false claims the company rigged the 2020 presidential election. A judge also found he defamed the Smartmatic voting company by making similar false allegations, though damages have not been determined in the case.
Key Background
Democratic Minnesota Gov. Mike Walz, Kamala Harris’ running mate in the 2024 presidential election, announced in January he would not seek a third term following revelations of a massive welfare and social services fraud scheme. Walz said he was dropping out of the race to focus on his work as governor and deal with the fallout of the fraud scheme. Federal prosecutors have estimated the amount stolen could top $9 billion, a figure Walz has disputed, but has acknowledged could stretch into the billions. Trump and his allies have used the scheme to target Walz’s Democratic administration and the state’s Somali community, as some of the defendants are of Somali descent. The case involves multiple programs that receive public funding across child services, education, daycares and food security.
further reading
Lawyers Abandon MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell Over Unpaid Legal Fees In Election Cases (Forbes)
MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell Says He Has ‘No Money Left’ To Pay Lawyers In Election Lawsuits (Forbes)
Law Firm Quits MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell’s Dominion Lawsuit, Claims Lawyer Filed It Without Permission (Forbes)
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